


Cold-Blooded Murder in a Murder Mystery Dinner? It's More Likely Than You'd Think

by Groot_Is_God



Series: More than Survive [5]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Blood, Blood and Violence, But With Actual Murder, Character Death, Death, Detective Peter, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Gen, Minor Character Death, Murder, Murder Mystery, Murder Mystery Dinner, Mystery, No one important dies I promise, Original Character Death(s), Peter is a Little Shit, Peter's gonna solve the case and nothings gonna stop him, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Pepper Potts, Stabbing, Theres descriptions of blood but it's not too gory, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, all the tags make this sound super sad and bleh but I promise this is funny too, it's just that theres death involved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-03-13 10:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18938662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Groot_Is_God/pseuds/Groot_Is_God
Summary: “A murder mystery dinner.” Peter repeated, pronouncing each syllable slowly.“Peter, you realize that half of the people sitting here are master assassins, right?” Tony pointed out, raising an amused eyebrow.“Ok for one, it’s 3 tenths of the people sitting here to be exact.” Peter corrected, causing Tony to roll his eyes. “And for two, it’s not like there any actual murder involved! It’s an interactive performance.”Peter suggests doing a murder mystery dinner with the Avengers which goes well until it takes a dark twist that makes the Avengers solve a mystery before more people get hurt, or worse, killed.





	1. Unum

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Here's part 5 of More Than Survive! I've always wanted to do a murder mystery dinner but I haven't had the chance too so what's the next best thing? The Avengers doing one! But that's too boring by itself so there's actual murders involved and a mystery so stay tuned for more!

“We should do a murder mystery dinner!” Peter exclaimed.

All the chatter at the table around him ceased. The eyes of the Avengers turned to him, some in amusement, some in shock, and other looking skeptical. It was a tower dinner where all the Avengers who lived in the tower or surrounding areas were gathered, instead of the dinners where everybody and their mother came.

“We should do _what_?” Clint asked, a look of disbelief on his face.

“A murder mystery dinner.” Peter repeated, pronouncing each syllable slowly.

“Peter, you realize that half of the people sitting here are master assassins, right?” Tony pointed out, raising an amused eyebrow.

“Ok for one, it’s 3 tenths of the people sitting here to be exact.” Peter corrected, causing Tony to roll his eyes. “And for two, it’s not like there any _actual_ murder involved! It’s an interactive performance.”

“I’m in.” Bucky said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms.

Tony looked absolutely shocked, his mouth hanging open slightly. “ _You’re_ in? Of all the people sitting here, you are interested in this idea?”

“Yeah. I like musicals.” Bucky responded nonchalantly.

“Ok, well, frozen popsicle number 2 is in, I guess. Anyone else?” Tony asked, still looking slightly confused but his expression bordering on just plain tired.

“I think it sounds like fun.” Wanda inputted. “Doesn’t it, Vision?”

“Yes, I agree, that does sound pleasant.” Vision answered smiling. Well, smiling as much as a humanoid robot can smile.

“Clint and I are in.” Natasha said, looking at Peter fondly.

“I never agreed to- “Clint started but Natasha silenced him with a look. “Yep, we’re in.” He corrected, gulping.

“Sure, a murder mystery dinner sounds interesting.” Steve agreed.

“Yeah, whatever.” Sam inputted, taking another forkful of Steve’s famous pasta.

“I don’t get out much, so anything sounds fun.” Bruce admitted, blushing slightly.

Peter looked across the table at Tony, who was rubbing his hands over his face looking exhausted. Peter couldn’t tell if it was from disbelief of what was happening or actual sleep deprivation. Knowing Tony, it was probably both.

“Dad?” Peter asked hopefully.

Pepper put her hand on Tony’s arm and traced her fingernails across his skin. It was clear that she wanted to do it but was leaving the final decision to Tony.

“Fine.” Tony muttered, looking up at Peter. “But, you’re in charge of planning everything.”

Peter whooped and Tony glared at him, clearly not in the mood. More actual sleep deprivation then, unsurprisingly. Peter chose a quieter way of celebrating and there was a general murmur of excitement around the table.

…

Over the next few days Peter spent hours meticulously planning and scheduling the Murder Mystery dinner. There were both public and private options, but he went with the public option for 2 reasons. One, the Avengers out doing fun normal people stuff was really good for publicity, and heaven only knows they need good press right now. Two, murder mystery dinners were always more fun with people who weren’t trained to spot every little detail. Hopefully being surrounded by normal people would discourage certain Avengers from ruining the fun for everyone (ahem, Clint).

He chose a dinner that maxed out its attendance at 30 people, and booked 11 tickets, one for each Avenger that was attending. There were a few theme dinners to choose from, but Peter chose one that was just a formal dress code after being informed by Tony that there would be no costumes or costume like attire allowed to leave the tower. Even pouting hadn’t changed his dad’s mind.

…

Peter attempted to tie his bowtie, but after 4 failed attempts decided he needed help from someone with a _little_ more experience.

Somehow, more experience came with being a bow and arrow wielding SHIELD agent and master assassin. Who knew?

“There you go.” Clint said, putting the finishing touches on Peter’s bowtie. Peter looked in Clint’s mirror, and was happy with the results. He was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt and black bowtie, all with his worn black converse. Tony had tried to get him to wear dress shoes, but Peter drew the line, saying he’d rather be comfortable.

“Thanks.” Peter responded. “You clean up pretty well for a chicken loving archer.”

Clint smirked and did jazz hands. He sort of resembled a penguin in his black and white tuxedo and black bowtie, which made Peter laugh.

Clint shooed him out of his room and into the hallway, closing the door behind Peter.

Peter made his way up to the common room where the other Avengers were gathered, each in their best attire. All the men were in black suits or tuxedos, well, all except for Tony who was wearing a gray Armani suit that was probably worth more than Bucky’s Jeep. Pepper was decked out in a long navy strapless gown, the top of which was bedazzled with gemstones, which her hair gracefully fell over. Natasha wore a beige Gatsby inspired gown with black accents, her red hair pulled back into a chignon. Wanda had a simple burgundy gown with a halter style neckline, her hair falling in curls onto her open back. To be stated simply, it was the most dressed up Peter had seen the Avengers in a long time.

“Everyone ready?” Tony asked, looking around. Peter noticed he looked more well rested than the dinner when he’d first brought this up.

“Clint’s missing.” Nat informed him.

“No, I’m not.” Clint said, striding into the room.

“Well, now that we have everyone, let’s get going!” Tony instructed. He held his arm out to Pepper which she took smiling. Peter couldn’t help but see that her dress perfectly matched with her wedding ring, an obviously conscious decision.

Nat grabbed Peter’s hand and led him to the elevator.

“Come on ребенок-паук, you get to hang out with me tonight.” Nat told him, her lip twitching up in a smile.

…

Once they arrived, even Tony agreed that the murder mystery dinner was a cool idea. The location was a manor in a more suburban part of Manhattan. As soon as you walked in the entrance had a large staircase leading to the second floor, and to the right of the staircase was an open double door than led to a large ballroom full of tables. The other guests who had already arrived were mingling about the ballroom, chatting with one another. The sound in the room ceased as everyone seemed to realize that the Avengers were joining them for dinner.

“May I have your attention please.” A voice called out, bringing the attention of the stunned silence from the Avengers to the front of the room. A man dressed in a serving uniform, complete with tails on the end of his coat, was standing and clicked a fork against a glass. The Avengers made their way to their seats.

“Welcome everyone to Humphry Manor. I am your host Donald Beaurdeville, but you may call me Donald.” The man introduced. “Throughout the night there will be many events to occur, as well as time for you all to investigate and come to your own conclusions. During these times you are granted access to all of the manor except for any locked rooms as well as the kitchen. There is an hour until dinner will be served, I suggest you all become acquainted with your surroundings.”

Donald left the room though the kitchen door, leaving silence in his wake. Then talking erupted all around as the other participants got up from their seats and began to wander around. Peter stayed close to Natasha, Clint, Pepper, and Tony, deciding that if there were to be any conflicts or events that occurred, he wanted them on _his_ team.

It only took about 15 minutes until something strange happened. A man Peter recognized as one of the other participants from earlier staggered into the ballroom, clutching at his chest with red staining his hands.

“Wow, these actors are really dedicated.” Peter commented as he watched the man stumble and fall, gasping for air.

“Peter, I don’t think- “Pepper began, then trailed off. Peter turned to her, hearing the fear in her voice. Something was very wrong.

Clint, Natasha, and Tony rushed over to the man. Peter tried to follow but Pepper tightly gripped his shoulders, holding him back.

“This guy’s been stabbed!” Clint exclaimed, removing the cummerbund from his tux and using it to staunch the bleeding.

The man’s breathing became shallower and shallower as blood continued to seep under the cummerbund despite Clint’s best efforts.

Tony stood up from his kneeling position and paced, rubbing a slightly bloody hand through his hair. Natasha bent her head down in a silent prayer and Clint stared at the man in disbelief.

Peter ripped out of Pepper’s grip, ignoring her call after him as he dashed over to where the man lay.

“What’s wrong?” Peter asked, eyes wide as he took in the scene. The man’s white dress shirt was now a startling red, the carpet around him stained a deeper tone. In the middle of his shirt were two large rips. The man’s eyes were closed, his mouth open, chest not moving.

“He’s dead.” Clint breathed, looking down.

“It’s an act, right? Cause this is a murder mystery dinner and there’s supposed to be a fake murder- “Peter rambled, disbelievingly.

Tony shook his head. “No Peter, this is real, cold-blooded murder. And we’re going to figure out who did it.”


	2. Duo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers begin the investigation into the murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long guys! It's been a busy week but here we are! This is a bit of a filler chapter, getting things kind of set up so that the real investigating can get underway.

Peter glanced around the corner carefully, not wanting to run into the murderer _or_ any of the Avengers. Sure, Tony had told him to stay put because it wasn’t safe, but since when did Peter listen to directions? Plus, he rationalized, it wasn’t like this was the most dangerous situation he’d been in. Still though, he didn’t want to get caught because while Tony would be annoyed with him, Pepper would be mad and when Pepper was mad, she was seriously scary.

Currently he was in the entry area, having snuck out of the ballroom and then explored around the manor. He walked along the stairs until he found a door he hadn’t already seen, on his left. Peaking in, Peter discovered a two-story library which someone had obviously spent a great deal of time in. In the middle of the room was a couch facing a grand fireplace, with four plump armchairs spread around. Around the edges of the room were floor to ceiling bookshelves, packed full of every kind of book you could think of with two ladders around to help reach the higher books.

Peter walked in, taking in the sight of all the reading material. It wasn’t his thing, but he was sure that MJ would have a field day in this library. He climbed one of the ladders running his fingers over the shelves, the book spines making a slight cracking sound under his touch.

“Peter Benjamin Parker!” A decidedly unhappy voice called.

Peter whipped around, almost falling off the ladder. He searched for the person calling his name, his eyes landing on- oh. “Pepper, hi.” Peter said, smiling nervously.

“Peter, you can’t run off like that!” Pepper chided, her expression a mixture of concern and anger. “I know you’ve been in many dangerous situations, but I need you to stay close.”

Peter deflated, feeling somewhat embarrassed for running off. He knew it was stupid, but at the same time, he couldn’t have just sat in the ballroom while someone ran around murdering people.

“I’m sorry.” Peter apologized, climbing down. “It won’t happen again.”

Pepper smiled. “We both know that’s not true, but the sentiment still counts.”

Peter grinned and followed Pepper back to the ballroom.

“There you are!” Tony exclaimed as they entered, standing up from his chair. “Where did you- “

“I already took care of it.” Pepper told him. Tony’s eyes glanced between Peter and Pepper and apparently, he thought it was better not to ask questions because he didn’t. Instead, he turned to Steve and the two started to check that everyone was accounted for.

Peter let his attention wander to the room around him. The man’s body hadn’t been moved, but a sheet had been placed over it. Next to the body stood Clint and Nat, who seemed to be in a heated discussion. The other guests, 10 in total, were sitting at their tables. One table had 6 participants at it, who were chatting amongst themselves. 4 people sat at the other table, obviously in shock of the event that had occurred. One woman in particular was crying, another patting her back. Peter guessed the crying woman was the deceased’s wife. Along the front of the room stood 6 servers, 2 cooks, and Donald.

“Ok we have everyone.” Steve said, bringing Peter’s attention back.

“So, what are we going to do now?” Sam asked, his eyes darting around the room.

“We’re going to find whoever did this.” Nat inputted, as she walked over, her tone leaving no room for disagreement.

“Well of course, but how do we do that?” Bruce inquired, looking up from the utensils he was fidgeting with.

“I have an idea!” Peter exclaimed, almost bouncing.

The Avengers stared at him, expectantly.

“Oh, right, so when I was exploring earlier- “Peter started, excitedly.

“Exploring when I directly told you _not_ to leave this room.” Tony grumbled.

“Yeah, then.” Peter clarified, rolling his eyes. “Either way, when I was exploring, I found this gift shop and look what they had!” He picked up a box from the ground and held it up.

“Detective kit.” Bucky read. “How is that going to help us?”

“It’s going to help us be detectives, duh. It had everything an amateur detective needs, a magnifying glass, fingerprinting powder, tape, oh and even a hat!” Peter continued without missing a beat.

Clint grabbed the hat from Peter’s hat and shoved it onto Peter’s head, Peter giving an undignified squawk at the invasion of his personal space.

Steve blinked a couple of times, clearly processing the jumble of words that had just exited Peter’s mouth.

“Ok, first things first, we need to talk to these people.” Steve decided, apparently opting to ignore the detective kit for now.

“Hello everyone, if we could just have your attention.” Steve announced, projecting his voice over the room. Conversations around them ceased as people turned to the Avenger’s table. “As you are all aware, a murder has occurred here today. Considering this, no one is to leave until this murderer is caught and restrained. Thank you.”

Everyone seemed to look around them precariously before settling back into quiet conversation.

“We need to find somewhere to make home base of sorts.” Pepper murmured, looking around discreetly. “The murderer is in this room and we don’t want them to know we’re onto them otherwise they may kill again.”

“I know a room.” Peter said, grinning.

…

“The library?” Sam asked, looking around the room. “Why the library?”

“It’s a central location.” Nat said, looking around.

“It seems we are missing detective boards.” Vision inputted.

“You been watching police movies recently?” Clint asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You all seem to forget that I am a supercomputer.” Vision stated, matter of factly. Clint considered this and shrugged.

Wanda wheeled a board in using her powers.

“Great, now does anyone have a portable printer?” Peter asked.

“Who carries a portable printer with them?” Tony responded incredulously.

Peter shrugged and walked into the connected study. Using his phone he printed some pictures, then went and rejoined the others.

“Ok, so, here is our victim, Jonathan Silba.” Peter stated, taping a picture of the man onto the board.

“Where did you get his picture?” Wanda wondered aloud.

“The internet.” Peter answered, glancing at her. “Shouldn’t you know that? You _are_ dating a supercomputer.”

Wanda rolled her eyes and used her magic to toss a book gently towards his head. Peter ducked then picked up pictures of every guest at the dinner.

“Why are you putting us up there too?” Sam asked as Peter hung a picture of Tony up, followed by one of Pepper.

“I’m putting everyone that’s here up.” Peter said, taping Bucky’s picture to the board.

“But we didn’t murder anyone.” Sam pointed out.

“That’s what they want you to think.” Peter informed him, glancing in his direction.

“Who?” Sam asked, lifting an eyebrow in confusion.

“The FBI.” Peter stated, going back to taping pictures.

“Ok, enough conspiracy theories for the spiderling. Got it.” Tony muttered, shaking his head.

“That’s everyone.” Peter said, stepping back from the board. Staring back at them were 31 pictures, 30 on the left side signifying suspects and 1 on the right side, showing the victim. Peter went to the box and grabbed a map, taping it up.

Clint walked up to the board, looking intently at the map. “Study, ballroom, library, billiards room, does anyone else feel like they’re playing clue?”

“So, we have 1 dead man and technically 30 suspects as to who killed him with practically no evidence whatsoever.” Natasha stated slowly. “It’s going to be a long night.”


	3. Tres

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suspects begin to get dwindled down as the Avengers get closer to finding the murderer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh you guys are going to hate me for the way this chapter ends lol  
> Sorry it's been so long since I posted last, school is starting to wrap up meaning that there's 10 times the homework but here's chapter 3 finally!

Peter looked at the board, 31 smiling faces staring back at him.

“Peter, why is your picture up there?” Sam asked, standing at his shoulder.

“I’m a suspect, hence I’m on the board.” Peter explained, turning to him.

Sam looked at him quizzically. “But shouldn’t _you_ of all people know that you didn’t commit the murder?”

“How do all of you know that I’m not lying?” Peter challenged, crossing his arms.

“Did you murder this man Peter?” Natasha asked, staring into his eyes with such intensity that he had to look away.

“Well no, but- “

“Then suspect cleared.” Natasha decided, moving Peter’s picture to the bottom of the board under a little sign that read cleared.

“We know for certain that Nat, Clint, Tony, Peter, and I did not do it.” Pepper stated. “We were all together in the ballroom when the victim stumbled in, already stabbed, which left us no time to commit the murder.”

Natasha nodded and moved the pictures accordingly.

“Bucky, Sam, Bruce, and I were in the bathroom.” Steve said, looking around. “We didn’t even know anything had happened until Clint and Tony came in and told us.”

“Why were you all in the bathroom for so long?” Natasha asked as she moved their pictures down to the cleared section.

“There was only two stalls and we all had to go.” Bucky said, shrugging.

“Vision? Wanda? Where were you guys?” Tony asked, looking to the witch and android.

“We were in the music room. There’s a piano in there and Vis was playing me a beautiful song.” Wanda said dreamily.

Peter could hear Tony mutter “Get a room” and giggled when Pepper hit his arm gently in disapproval.

Natasha moved the last two Avenger’s pictures down and stood back.

“That’s 11 people cleared, 19 suspects remaining.” Nat said, her eyes squinting slightly as she examined the remaining pictures.

“Well let’s start with this question, were any of the suspects near the crime scene when the murder occurred?” Steve asked.

“Better question, _where_ is the crime scene?” Bruce asked, looking around to his teammates.

“We don’t know where the crime scene is?” Steve reiterated, bewildered.

“You all are useless.” Tony muttered. Pepper hit his arm gently again and Tony turned to her. “What? I’m not wrong.”

“Guys stop!” Peter shouted. The adults all stopped talking over one another and turned to him. “This is getting us nowhere. First things first we have to find the crime scene so let’s start there.”

Tony nodded and took out his phone. “Friday, set up a secured comm line to everyone’s phones.” He instructed.

“Comm line connected boss.” Friday reported.

“If anyone finds anything, and I mean _anything,_ let everyone else know.” Tony said, looking to his teammates. Everyone nodded and disbanded, exiting the library.

“I’m going to keep watch here, make sure no one messes with our stuff.” Pepper decided, sitting down onto one of the couches.

Tony looked like he was about to argue but Steve beat him. “I’ll stay with you.” He offered, walking back to the sofa area and sitting across from her. Tony still looked wary, but a look from Steve told him that he would keep Pepper safe.

Peter was making his way towards the door quietly so no one would notice he left, but a hand grabbed the collar of his shirt.

“Nice try, but you’re not getting away from me that easily again.” Tony said, an eyebrow raised in a ‘ _really?_ ’ look.

“But- “

“Nope, no buts. You’re not going off alone with a murderer running loose. Now come on, I don’t want birdbrain to find something before we do.”

…

Tony and Peter explored the living room, dining room, and music room. All were clear except for the music room, where Vision and Wanda had migrated to. Vision was playing a love song on the piano while Wanda sat next to him, singing softly. It was a very sweet sight that Tony _almost_ ruined, but Peter stopped him and pulled him out of the doorway.

They had decided to head back to the library and check in with Pepper and Steve when something caught Peter’s eye.

“Wait, dad, look at this.” Peter called. Tony, who had been about to open the library door, backtracked to see what Peter was pointing at.

On the third stair from the ground there was a strange stain on the mahogany wood.

“What do you see there?” Peter asked, putting his face up to the stain to study it.

“The back of your curly head.” Tony responded, smirking. Peter glared at him and Tony put his hand up in a surrendering gesture. “Fine, fine, move so I can see.”

Peter scooted over slightly, and Tony joined him. “It looks like a stain.”

“Well duh, but does it look reddish to you?”

“A little- Are you thinking this is a blood stain?”

Peter nodded and looked up the stairs. “Has anyone checked up there yet?”

“I don’t think so, let’s go.”

The two bounded up the full set of stairs, then decided to go up the half staircase to the right. Peter led the way down the hallway until they came to the sitting room at the end.

“I think we found our crime scene.” Peter said, taking in the scene in front of him.

The sitting room had a light tan couch and two matching armchairs with a coffee table in the middle. The carpet had a red stain on it, accompanied by a bloody knife next to it. The armchair closest to the hallway they had come out of had a bloody handprint on its arm.

“Yeah, I think so too.” Tony agreed, getting out his phone to tell the others.

…

“Evidence A, the knife.” Peter announced, putting the bag containing the bloody knife they’d found onto the table.

After they’d found the crime scene, Peter had used some latex gloves from his detective kit to pick the knife up and sealed it in a plastic bag, also from the detective kit. All the Avengers had regrouped in the library.

“I’m assuming that’s the murder weapon.” Sam said, looking warily at the knife.

“Most likely.” Bruce agreed.

"That looks like the kitchen knives we have at the tower.” Wanda observed.

“Similar, it’s a different brand, but it definitely is a kitchen knife.” Steve informed her.

“To be more precise, it’s a kitchen knife from the kitchen here.” Natasha said, pausing to let the information sink in.

“How do you know?” Pepper questioned.

Natasha produced another knife from her pocket, identical to the one in the bag other than the blade was more serrated and longer.

“I took this knife from the kitchen; both are the same brand. Also, there was a knife missing from the rack where I got this one.”

“So, it was someone who had access to the kitchen.” Clint said slowly.

“We need to talk to the kitchen staff.” Peter decided.

…

Peter had set up shop in the study, sitting in the fancy chair behind the desk. Bucky leaned against the wall behind him, watching.

Tony entered with one of the cooks, leading the woman to the chair across from Peter.

“Pete, why is there a sign on the door that says interrogation?” Tony questioned, glancing back at the handwritten sign taped to the door.

“I thought that was kinda self-explanatory.” Peter replied, smirking.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Whatever, just don’t let Tasha in, I don’t want to pay for any damages.”

“Shall we start?” Peter asked the cook once Tony had left. She froze for a moment, her eyes screaming in fear, then nodded quickly.

Peter pressed the record button on Clint’s phone. Originally, he was going to use his own phone, but Clint had made fun of him for the interrogation room sign so Clint’s phone it was.

 “So how long have you worked at Humphry Manor?” Peter asked.

The woman froze again, staring behind his chair. “T- T- Two years.”

Peter glanced behind his chair. Bucky was still leaned against the wall, his arms crossed and staring icily at the woman.

“Bucky stop that, you’re scaring her.” Peter chided. Bucky rolled his eyes and pulled up a chair next to Peter.

“Now that _someone_ is done being menacing, let’s actually begin.”

…

Each cook and server was interviewed, Peter doing the talking while Bucky sat there staring, with nothing important or even the slightest bit helpful being learned. Leaving only the host.

“What is your name?” Peter asked after he started the video.

“Donald Beaudeville.”

“And how long have you worked in the manor?”

“6 years.”

“Did you notice anything suspicious tonight?”

“Everything is suspicious to someone who hasn’t seen it before.”

“Ok… Let me rephrase that. Has anything strange occurred recently.”

“Every house has it’s secrets that are strange to the outsider.”

“Such as?”

“Well it wouldn’t be a secret if I told you now would it?”

Peter paused, completely confused. He glanced over at Bucky, who had an odd expression on his face.

“Where did you go after your introduction?” Peter asked, getting back on track.

“I went into the Hearth Room and relaxed before the dinner. A host has many responsibilities, you know.”

“Can anyone attest to seeing you in the Hearth Room?”

“Well no, I was quite alone.”

“That will be all.” Bucky said, staring icily at the man. Peter looked to him in surprise and confusion, but Bucky seemed set in his decision.

Donald got up and left the room without another word.

Peter spun on Bucky. “What was that for?” He demanded.

“He was having too much fun in answering your questions and confusing you. That’s not good.” Bucky said, getting up and exiting back into the library. Peter followed, shaking his head.

“Anything?” Steve asked, standing up from the couch.

“Nothing conclusive.” Peter said. “But the host is super weird.”

Steve was about to say something when Vision rushed in carrying Wanda in his arms.

“What’s wrong?” Nat asks, moving at impressive speeds to him and motioning for the android to set Wanda onto the couch. Wanda’s eyes wander the room, looking very dazed and confused.

“She’s been hit on the head.” Vision reported.

Gasps sound around the room and Peter reaches for Wanda’s hand. She grasps it tightly, like it was keeping her from drifting away.

“There’s only one person who’d have the motive to do that.” Tony said, eyes wide but voice strong.

“The murderer.”


	4. Quattour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team figures out what happened to Wanda and makes a big discovery about the victim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh it's been way to long since I've updated! I hate how life gets in the way because this story is honestly so much fun to write! It's going to get wrapped up in either 1 or 2 more chapters, it just depends on how much I fit into chapter 5. I'll try to get ch 5 up as soon as I can!

Wanda’s tight grip on Peter’s hand was starting to cut off his circulation, not that he minded. To be honest, it was comforting him as much as it comforted her. He hadn’t really been scared of the murderer before, yeah, the person murdered someone but death kind of comes with his profession. But now that they’ve hurt one of their own? Someone that he thinks of almost like a sister and would die for if necessary, not that anyone would _ever_ let that happen, but the sentiment still counts. Peter was starting to get a little scared.

He let his eyes wander the room from his crouched position next to the sofa. Vision stood behind the couch, his teal mechanical eyes conveying as much worry as a humanoid robot could conjure. Natasha knelt next to Peter closer to Wanda’s head, bandaging a wound on her forehead.

Outside their little couch bubble the other Avengers watched the scene, trying to make sense of the situation. Tony seemed to be trying to build something out of books, his phone, and a hammer that came from who knows where. Knowing Tony, he had brought it himself. Pepper and Steve were trying their best to stop the engineer, but their efforts were fruitless. Bruce stood on the fringes of the couch, his hand hovering like he wanted to help but didn’t know what to do. Bucky and Sam were standing at the board, studying each of the remaining suspects and speaking to each other in low tones, occasionally glancing back at Wanda. Clint, in true bird fashion, had managed to climb to the top of one of the highest bookshelves and was perched at the top, looking down and surveying the scene below him.

“I think that does it.” Natasha said, sitting back onto her heels and allowing Peter a good look at Wanda’s face. She was considerably paler than before, small streams of blood dried onto the right side of her face, trailing from the bandage by her eyebrow to her chin. Her eyes were less cloudy and more focused, actually latching onto things around her rather than wandering aimlessly.

“Wanda, how are you feeling?” Vision asked as the other Avengers stopped what they were doing and formed a small circle around the couch. Well, the other Avengers except for Clint who stayed on his perch.

“Better.” Wanda said, her voice wavering a bit but remaining steady as she sat up. Peter got up from his position on the ground and sat next to her, her hand still tightly gripping his.

“Do you think you could tell us what happened?” Steve asked, his voice taking on its stereotypical Captain America quality. Peter caught Tony rolling his eyes and stifled a grin.

“I can try.” Wanda admitted; her voice shakier than before. “Vis and I were searching the living room and- “

“Was this before or after you were being all lovey dovey in the music room?” Tony inquired with a shit-eating grin. Peter grinned, for real this time, when Pepper hit Tony on the arm disapprovingly.

“After.” Wanda said coolly, glaring as much as she could with a bandaged eyebrow. “So, Vis thought he saw something in the dining room and he left to go check it out. I stayed behind and started checking the couch cushions because well, we lose things all the time at the tower in the cushions, why couldn’t people here?”

“Sounds reasonable.” Bruce inputted, nodding.

“In the cushions of one of the couches I found a small black velvet box, like a box a wedding ring would go in. I was about to open it when I heard footsteps behind me. I thought it was Vis, so I didn’t think anything of it until they approached me and when I turned, they hit me.” Wanda continued, looking down at her lap.

“Did you get a look at who hit you?” Steve asked.

“No, it all happened so fast.” Wanda explained. “I fell onto the ground and I must have blacked out because the next thing I knew Vis was picking me up and bringing me in here.”

“What happened to the box?” Pepper asked, latching onto the detail.

“I didn’t see any box when I picked Wanda up. Perhaps the culprit took it.” Vision suggested.

Clint climbed down the bookshelf, slipping on a book 3 shelves up from the ground and landing in a pile of clumsy archer. He rightened himself and took a seat on the armchair next to where Natasha was kneeling.

“You said the box looked like a ring box? For like a proposal?” Clint asked and Peter could see the gears spinning in his head.

“Yes.” Wanda confirmed, looking up at the archer. “Why?”

Clint ignored the question. “Right after the murder when we spoke to everyone in the ballroom, there was a particularly distraught woman, right?”

“Yeah there was, where are you going with this?” Sam said clearly not catching on.

Some of the others seemed to share Sam’s confusion but the lightbulb flickered on in Peter’s brain.

“Do you think the box is for- “Peter started.

“Yeah.” Clint finished.

Peter’s mouth fell open at the new revelation. He met Clint’s eyes and they had a silent conversation.

“Care to share with the class?” Tony asked, breaking the silence.

“Chances are the box Wanda found _was_ a ring box, and since the murderer seemed so determined to keep it hidden chances are its connected to the crime.” Peter explained, looking around at the others faces.

“And neither the victim nor the upset woman was wearing a ring so I’m going to take an educated guess that Mr. Silba was going to propose to his girlfriend tonight.” Clint continued.

“That- actually makes a lot of sense.” Sam commented, thinking it over.

“That means we need to talk to the girlfriend.” Bucky said with an air on finality.

…

Peter reclaimed his spot in the study with Bucky rejoining him as supervisor. He wasn’t sure why the others thought it was a good idea to have one of the most menacing people in the room to interview a heartbroken loved one, but it’s not like he had any control in the matter.

The door opened and Pepper led in a small woman in a long ballgown, her makeup ruined by tears.

“The change to your sign was a good idea.” Pepper commented as she led the woman to the seat across from Peter. Peter agreed, the sign which had previously said interrogation now read interview room, which was much more fitting.

Pepper squeezed the woman’s shoulder supportively then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Hello Miss, I am Peter Parker, and this is Sergeant Barnes. Can I ask what your name is?” Peter greeted politely.

The woman glanced nervously at Bucky who was sitting back in his chain with his arms crossed. Peter followed her eyes and glared at Bucky, who rolled his eyes in response and sat up straighter in an attempt to seem less menacing. It didn’t do much, but it seemed to put the woman a little more at ease.

“Tiffany Marlotte.” The woman said, her voice faint. She held her hand out and Peter shook it. She glanced at Bucky but decided against holding her hand out to him.

“Miss Marlotte- “Peter began.

“Tiffany.” She instructed.

“Tiffany, “Peter corrected, “I understand that this is very difficult, but could you tell us about Jonathan and your relationship with him?”

Tiffany sniffled, a tear running down her cheek. “John and I had been dating for 10 years. We’d finally decided that we were ready to take the next step and then…” She trailed off.

“That seems like a very long time to date.” Peter pointed out carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was offend this woman.

“To most people, yes. But for us it was just what needed to happen. For 6 years John’s job was the most important thing and I supported him fully in that. Then for the past 4 years we’ve really worked on us as a whole.” Tiffany explained.

“And what did John do?” Peter inquired.

“He worked for a government agency all over the world.” Tiffany answered.

“What locations?” Bucky asked. Peter glanced at him quizzically but Bucky was staring straight at Tiffany.

“Uhh DC, New York City, Hong Kong, London, oh and one year he said he was part of a team on a constantly moving airship.”

Bucky met Peter’s eyes knowingly, both of them knowing _exactly_ what Tiffany was talking about.

“Tiffany, this is really important, did John ever tell you what he was doing at these places? What his assignments were?” Peter asked.

Tiffany frowned. “No, he didn’t.”

Bucky met Peter’s eyes again and nodded.

“Thank you for your time Tiffany, Miss Potts will escort you back to your party.” Peter said, standing up. Pepper, hearing him dismiss Tiffany, came in and led Tiffany out, Bucky and Peter following the two women out into the library.

“Please tell me you got something cause we got nothing, and I am _this_ close to blowing something up.” Tony pleaded, sounding completely done.  

“Oh, we have something.” Bucky said, his lip twitching in a slight smile.

“Do share.” Tony said, motioning for them to spill it.

Pepper reentered the library and Peter reclaimed his seat next to Wanda, who was resting her head on the back of the sofa. The others gathered around the couch and Peter played the video of Tiffany’s interview.

“A constantly moving airship? Does she mean the helicarrier?” Bruce questioned; his eyebrows creased in confusion.

“Yes. And those cities she mentioned are all locations of SHIELD bases, some of which were very, ah, how to phrase this, classified.” Clint said.

“Does this mean what I think this means?” Sam asked, looking around.

“Depends on what you think it means.” Bucky deadpanned.

“He was a Shield agent.” Natasha said with an air of finality.

Peter squeaked, having come to that conclusion minutes before. “ _Oh my God he was a Shield agent._ ”


	5. Quinque

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team analyzes John's life choices and interviews his partner. A sudden event causes them all to jump into action, putting themselves at risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey guess who's back! It's me. If you couldn't tell. I'm still mid finals week but I have 2 more tests to go then I'm officially done for the year and I'll be officially a junior. What's even better is my birthday is on Wendsday so it'll be a fun week! Sorry for the long delay, I honestly hit a bit of a wall for a bit but I think I figured it out. I extended this fic by one chapter cause I couldn't wrap it all up in this chapter so there will be one more after this. I'll try to update asap! Ily all!!!

“You good kid?” Tony asked, eying Peter warily.

Peter was hanging upside down from a web he had attached to the ceiling. He was examining the picture of the victim, which had been moved to the center of the board after their most recent discovery. Someone had written _‘Shield Agent’_ in marker below the picture, the most likely culprit being Sam as the writing was drawn out, slightly messy, and slanted.

“Yeah, just getting another perspective.” Peter replied, squinting at the picture.

Then his arm shot out, catching a book which had been flying towards his head and scaring Tony half to death in the process. As Tony clutched his chest and dramatically caught his breath Peter looked at the book.

“Deadly Spiders.” Peter read. Then he spun around carefully on his web with a look of fond exasperation. “Really?”

“Thought it’d be something you’d enjoy.” Bucky commented, sitting on an armchair with his feet propped up on a table.

Peter rolled his eyes and spun back around to the board.

“What are you thinking? Cause I can see the gears turning in that curly head of yours.” Tony inquired, studying Peter’s face.

“Shield went down 4 years ago, why wait until now to propose?” Peter asked, returning to his original line of thought.

“Cold feet.” Steve suggested, listening in from where he was standing not too far away.

“Possibly, but he’s been dating her for so long, if it wasn’t what he wanted he would’ve ended the relationship beforehand.” Peter countered. Steve seemed to consider this and nodded.

“Money? If John thought that he didn’t have the money to financially support both him and Tiffany, he could have decided that waiting was the way to go.” Bruce said.

Peter spun around and saw that everyone was now part of their conversation. Good to know.

“That’s feasible, but unlikely. For a government agency SHIELD pays decently well and they do have a good retirement plan for those who actually make it that far.” Natasha said, debunking Bruce’s theory. Peter started to consider the implications of the end of her statement but decided against it as he really didn’t want to know.

“Ok, what else?” Tony asked, motioning for the others to start throwing out ideas.

“John might have felt that he hadn’t experienced the world enough and wanted to do that before getting married.” Vision suggested.

“Yeah, but he was stationed all over the world while working for SHIELD according to Tiffany, which let him experience all sorts of things. Plus, there’s no reason why he couldn’t go places and experience things _with_ Tiffany.” Clint said.

Peter pondered all these ideas, but none of them fit. Then the lightbulb went off in his head, a crazy, but strangely logical idea forming.

“Guys, what if he waiting because he was still working for SHIELD.” Peter asked, looking around. He was met with stares of confusion.

“But SHIELD fell…” Sam pointed out, clearly confused.

“Yeah, but what if he was an underground SHIELD agent. We know that there’s still a handful of them cause during the battle with Ultron some helped on the helicarrier. But what if there were other underground agents, like John, who infiltrated HYDRA and made it onto their specialized teams and forces.” Peter proposed.

Peter watched as the others took in and thought about his idea. He would be the first to admit, it was a little farfetched, but it fit the evidence that they had. Nobody seemed exactly sold on the idea, but Tony seemed especially wary.

“I see where you’re coming from kiddo, but what if John _is_ Hydra?” Tony asked almost tentatively.

“I can’t- won’t accept that.” Peter decided. He felt a strange connection to John, he didn’t know why, but he knew that he wasn’t a bad guy.

“Pete- “Tony started, but was interrupted by a noise coming from his phone. He pulled it out and read whatever was on the screen, his eyebrows creased in what seemed to be concentration mixed with confusion. “That’s odd… Friday tell them what you found.”

“At 2:17pm today the victim, Jonathan Silba, placed a call to Avengers tower.” Friday reported. Then her voice changed into a man’s, and Peter realized she was playing the recording of the call. “Hi, uh, my name is Jonathan Silba and, uh, I really need to talk to the Avengers. It’s really important and urgent. If someone could give me a call back at this number or call my friend Justus Morse…” He goes on to list a phone number then ends the call.

Shocked silence filled the room.

“He _wanted_ to talk to us?” Wanda asked quietly.

“We need to talk to Justus.” Peter declared.

…

Peter retook his position behind the desk in the study. The sign on the door still said ‘Interview Room’ as this was technically an interview and not an interrogation. Natasha insisted on joining in the interview as well as Bucky so now there were _two_ assassins in the room, sitting on either side of Peter. As if one assassin wasn’t enough.

Steve entered the room, leading a man who Peter recognized as one of the men that was sitting at Tiffany’s table.

“Justus Morse?” Peter asked, standing to greet the newcomer. Justus nodded confidently, seemingly unphased by the two assassins watching him cooly.

“I’m Peter.” Peter introduced, extending a hand.

“Pleasure.” Justus greeted, shaking Peter’s hand. They both took their seats.

“I’m sorry to be meeting under these circumstances.” Peter said, “Were you and Jonathan close?”

“Very. He was by best friend since our training days.” Justus said, his tone becoming slightly far away as if lost in a memory.

“SHIELD training days?” Natasha asked.

Justus blinked at her for a moment, apparently taken off guard. _Interesting._ “Yes, we worked for SHIELD for years until its collapse.” He said, recovering.

“And what did you do once SHIELD collapsed?” Peter inquired.

“We went underground and infiltrated Hydra. We then joined an elite team that performed different, well, jobs, around the world.” Justus explained.

Bucky stared at him, then nodded for him to continue.

“We kept track of all of our missions to eventually give them back to someone who could take Hydra down, but we never got the chance.”

Bucky and Nat shared a look that Peter didn’t quite understand.

“How did you get involved with Hydra?” Bucky asked.

“Our commanding officer told us to join or die. I was willing to die but John convinced me to join, he didn’t want to leave Tiffany behind.” Justus said.

Peter opened his mouth to say something, but Natasha cut him off. “That will be all, thank you Mr. Morse.”

Justus nodded and stood, Bucky escorting him out. Everyone gathered back in the library while Nat and Peter explained what Justus had said, Bucky inputting details as they went.

“It doesn’t add up.” Nat said when they had finished the story.

“You’re right.” Pepper agreed, “The phone call suggests Jonathan wanted to give up his intel, but Justus said they never had the opportunity to? It doesn’t fit.”

“Also, when SHIELD was taken over, it wasn’t join or die, it was more of ‘cooperate or we’ll kill you’. There wasn’t any joining involved.” Steve inputted, remembering the events that occurred during that time.

“So where do we go from here?” Peter asked.

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of shrill screaming interrupted him.

“That sounds like its coming from the ballroom!” Sam exclaimed.

The library door banged open and a woman rushed in, stumbling on her heels.

“There’s a man! W-with a gun!” She screeched before tripping. Steve caught her and helped her back to her feet. She dashed out the door in the opposite direction of the ballroom, Steve hot on her tail to make sure she was ok.

“I think we cornered them.” Bucky muttered, moving towards the ballroom.

“You think?” Clint asked sarcastically, following Bucky out the door, Natasha at his side.

Peter stared wildly as his family left the room going towards the danger. Sure, they were superheroes and they always went towards the danger, but _still_. It made a guy worry. He started to move toward the door as well but Tony stopped him.

“You stay here.” Tony instructed, a dangerous glint in his eye that Peter would later recognize as fear.

“But- “Peter protested, but he was interrupted by Tony.

“ _No_. You stay here and _actually_ stay here.” Tony demanded harshly. Peter took a step back in shock. The last time Tony had spoken to him like _that_ was when he’d taken the suit away after the ferry boat incident.

Tony must’ve noticed Peter’s shock because his face softened. He reached out and clasped Peter’s shoulder. “Stay here and protect your mom and Wanda.”

Peter nodded and Tony went and kissed Pepper before rushing out as well, the door clicking shut after him.

Wanda beckoned to him from the couch. He sat next to her and she took his hand. Peter looked up at Pepper and saw the uncertainty in her eyes.

“It’ll be ok.” Wanda murmured.

Peter sure hoped she was right.


	6. Sex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mystery reaches its end as Avengers close on the murderer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First note, the chapter title is the latin word for 6. This chapter has nothing at all to do with sex so don't be confused. 
> 
> Second, I feel like the ending is a bit weird because I didn't really know how to wrap this all up so if you feel like anything is left undone let me know and I can explain it and maybe I'll go back and fix it.
> 
> This story has been super fun to write and is definently not the end of Peter's story in this little universe I've created. I have some ideas for upcoming fics so stay tuned!

Peter walked past the sofa where Wanda was sitting, the tip of his converse touching his other heel as he took small strides. He wasn’t typically one to pace but there wasn’t anything else to do! Sure, his job was to protect Pepper and Wanda, but they weren’t currently in huge danger, leaving him to pace and get stuck in his own thoughts.

Wanda was just sitting on the couch, eyes tracing his movements. While to most people this would be a show of calmness Peter knew otherwise. Her fingers were glowing slightly red, something they tended to do when she was stressed, and her breathing, while careful, was shallow.

Pepper on the other hand was the picture of calm. She was sitting in one of the two armchairs reading what appeared to be _To Kill A Mockingbird_. Her eyes darted back and forth across the pages, flipping to the next one occasionally.

Finally, Peter couldn’t take it anymore. “How are you so calm?” He asked exasperatedly, pausing his pacing to instead stare at Pepper.

Pepper looked up from her book and smiled at him, almost humorously. “Peter sweetie, this is what I do _every_ time you boys go off to a battle. It keeps to centered and collected.” Then she went back to her book.

Peter considered that for a moment then went back to pacing. Every person in any movie who said pacing was helpful was wrong. It was definitely _not_ helpful.  

“I can’t do this!” Peter exclaimed, pulling on his hair. “I can’t just stand here doing nothing while they’re all out there!”

“Peter come here.” Wanda said, beckoning for him to sit next to her. Reluctantly Peter did as he was told. He sat next to her and she took his hand.

“Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.” She instructed, closing her own eyes. Peter could hear her breathing slow down to a more reasonable speed.

Peter closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing, but his body was not having it. Every time he tried to slow his breath his chest constricted, and he couldn’t get enough air.

“I- I can’t!” Peter exclaimed, on the verge of breakdown. There was just too much going on.

Wanda’s hand tightened on his. “I believe in you Peter, keep trying.”

10 minutes passed like this, Peter trying to slow his breathing while Wanda kept him grounded. The flip of Pepper’s pages let them both know that they weren’t alone. Peter had almost gotten his breath to be somewhat calm, but the universe had other ideas.

A gunshot rang out, tearing through the silence in the library like, well, a bullet. Peter’s eyes flew open as he jumped to his feet, eyes as round as saucers. He looked down at Wanda, making sure she was not injured, which she wasn’t. She was staring at the bookshelf in front of her in a state of shock.

Pepper’s book hit the ground with a thud. Her eyes showed only fear as she looked directly at Peter and nodded.

Peter understood immediately and gave Wanda a hug which she didn’t respond to other than shaking slightly. He rushed to Pepper and she grasped him like she never wanted to let go.

“I love you.” She whispered in his ear, sounding like she was about to cry.

“Love you too mom, I’ll be back.” Peter whispered back. He kissed her on the cheek then ran to the door, closing it tightly behind him.

…

The manor had always been a little creepy, but it seemed about downright haunted to Peter when he knew there was a man with a gun and who knows what other weapons threatening his family. Someone, most likely the gunman/murderer/whatever else this person was, had turned off the lights leaving only the dim emergency lights. Every tiny movement made him jump and he totally did not get spooked by his own shadow. That _totally_ didn’t happen. At all.

Peter made his way down the hallway, pressing his body against the wall. His webshooters were activated, but unless it was absolutely necessary, he couldn’t use them. He wasn’t Spiderman right now; he was Peter Parker and Peter Parker using Spiderman’s webshooters would not be good for the whole secret identity thing.

He crept around a corner and peeked into the small hallway that led into the ballroom. The door was slightly ajar, a small beam of warm light spilling out into the dark hallway. Peter made his way to the door, his footsteps light and careful to avoid creaking. He tried to look through the crack, but only saw a small glimpse of the room before he accidentally tapped the door. It closed a centimeter but thankfully didn’t make a noise. Peter made a mental note to find out who did maintenance here and thank them for keeping the hinges oiled.

Inside the room Peter could hear a man talking, probably the bad guy monologuing. For some reason in Peter’s experience the bag guys _always_ monologue. Like, what’s the point? They’re just telling the people who are about to take them down their entire plan which makes it easier to put them in jail.

But monologuing was good. Monologuing meant that he had time to come up with a plan since the Avengers seemed to be a little preoccupied.

Peter decided he needed a way to see into the room and looking through the crack hadn’t worked. He had two options; looking through the crack from the floor again or climbing to the ceiling and looking through. He had got lucky the first time, but he didn’t really trust the door not to make a sound again, so Peter picked option two.

Climbing to the ceiling was easy. Peter situated himself right in front of the door so he could see through the crack.

Inside the ballroom Justus Morse was standing in the middle with a gun pointed at a woman that Peter remembered seeing at one of the tables at the beginning of the night. The other guests and the entire staff were lined up against the wall, their faces pressed against the beige paint. Natasha, Clint, and Bruce were kneeling next to a man, who Peter decided to call Jeff. Jeff’s pant leg had been ripped off; his leg covered with blood. Clint’s hands were a matching color as he pressed on the wound. Bruce seemed to be keeping track of Jeff’s vitals while Nat held his hand, murmuring something into his ear.

Vision was hovering near the Justus, critically analyzing the situation. Bucky up against the wall with the other guests, but instead of facing the wall he was talking to a young lady. Tears were streaming down her face and she was gasping for breath, probably having a panic attack, something Peter was well acquainted with. Bucky held her hands to keep her grounded while he whispered to her. Sam was at the other end of the wall, facing it just like the other guests.

The only person Justus had determined was a threat was apparently Tony, who was tied to a chair with pieces of a torn apart tablecloth. Peter grinned a little when he saw the gag in his mouth, also made of tablecloth. He doubted that was originally part of Justus’s plan, but Tony could never stop talking. Half the time he just annoyed the bad guys enough that they stopped to tell him to shut up, which allowed his dad to take them down.

The only Avenger Peter didn’t see was Steve, who he figured had stayed with the woman who ran off.

“He was foolish.” Justus spat, still monologuing. Seriously, _how_ do these guys talk for so long? “He couldn’t see the future. Hydra is the future. Instead he ran off to marry miss little perfect over there and tried to expose Hydra. But you can’t kill Hydra as your great captain knows. Cut off one head and another grows back.”

“But even with that sentiment, we can’t just let our valued information get spilt to the government. We lost many of our resources and much of our power when our secrets got put onto the internet by Miss Romanov. Instead we remove any _stains_ by taking them out, which I almost got away with before you freaks came and ruined everything.”

Peter just couldn’t take any more of this, it was so stupid. He wondered if this was how MJ felt about well, everything.

He opened the door and swung down from a web. He shot another web and grabbed the gun from Justus, hurling it against the wall. Then he webbed Justus to the ceiling, hanging him from his feet. With a well-placed web to the mouth because God if he had to hear any more of that crap, Peter landed on the ground. It was supposed to be smooth and very cool looking, but he tripped on a tablecloth that was on the ground and fell in a pile of limbs. He stood up quickly, his face hot from embarrassment.

Peter turned towards Justus and smiled. “I’d love to chat, but you seem a little _caught up._ ”

“Oh my God Peter, enough with the puns! They’re getting worse and worse.” Tony grumbled, taking the gag out of his mouth and making a face at it. As soon as Justus had been unarmed Sam had untied him before going and checking on the guests and staff.

“Someone call an ambulance, he needs medical attention.” Bruce called over.

“I’ve got it.” Sam responded, taking his phone from his pocket.

Peter was still riding the adrenaline rush when Tony came over to him, a look of anger on his face.

“I thought I told you to stay in the library.” Tony said harshly.

“You did but- “Peter started but was interrupted.

“Peter, I told you point blank, not to leave the library. You can’t just rush into a battle like that! You could have gotten injured or worse, killed!”

Peter stared at him for a moment, the anger bubbling up inside him. “Yeah? And what good were you guys doing? You were tied up, Bucky and Sam were against the wall, Vision was doing _nothing,_ and Bruce, Clint, and Nat were helping the man who _got shot_ while you all were in here! For all we knew in the library one of you had been killed!”

Tony opened and closed his mouth like a fish, staring at Peter in surprise. Peter glared back in response. Then, to Peter’s shock, Tony engulfed him in a hug.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry Peter, you didn’t deserve that. You did the right thing, you just really scared me.” Tony whispered.

Peter’s anger dissolved. “It’s ok, I know you were just worried.”

Pepper and Wanda chose that moment to burst into the room. Pepper rushed to her boys and wrapped her arms around them while Wanda ran to Vision.

“Hey, has anyone seen Steve?” Bucky asked, looking around.

“Uhh, didn’t he go after that other woman?” Clint said, looking up from Jeff’s leg.

Bucky walked out of the room. Seconds later an EMT hurried in with a gurney and everyone backed away as Jeff got loaded onto the gurney and wheeled out.

Steve and Bucky reentered with the woman from before between them. She broke off and ran to her party, hugging and kissing them.

“What ever happened to the box from before?” Wanda asked as the Avengers formed a small circle of sorts.

“I don’t think we’ll ever know, but I bet that the ring had information stored in it.” Tony commented.

“In it?” Steve asked, baffled.

“Yeah, like a microchip or something. But the timing lines up and that way he couldn’t ever lose it.” Tony explained.

 “Let’s not do another murder mystery dinner again.” Peter decided, leaning his head on Natasha’s shoulder.

Nat laughed and ruffled his hair. “Whatever you say ребенок-паук.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos give me life!
> 
> Come say hi at groot-is-god.tumblr.com


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